The present invention relates to a stirring member for stirring a developer in a developer container and a recycling or refreshing method for the stirring member. The developer container is used as a toner supply container for supplying powdery toner to an image forming apparatus, for example.
In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser beam printer or the like using an electrophotographic process, a photosensitive drum is uniformly charged and is selectively exposed to light so that electrostatic latent image is formed thereon. The latent image is developed with a developer in the form of powdery toner into a developed image, which is transferred onto a recording material.
The electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording material through an electrophotographic image formation type process. Examples of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus include an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (a laser beam-printer or LED printer mountable), a facsimile machine, a word processor and the like. With such an apparatus, the powdery toner has to be replenished each time it is used up. Some toner supply containers for doing this are provided with a toner stirring member for stirring or feeding the toner.
The toner stirring member comprises a rigid stirring shaft (supporting member) and a flexible stirring blade, and they are fastened together by heat crimping, ultrasonic crimping, riveting, screwing or the like.
On the other hand, a toner cartridge as a toner supply container for supplying the toner into the image forming apparatus is generally classified into two groups. The first group includes a so-called replenishing type cartridge with which the toner contained therein is supplied into a toner receiving container of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus all at once. The second group includes a so-called stationary type cartridge which is placed in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, and the toner is gradually supplied into the developing device until the toner therein is used up.
Recently, the stationary type tends to be used more from the standpoint of downsizing the image forming apparatus. In order to supply the toner to maintain a constant level of toner amount in the developing device, many types of toner cartridges are provided with the stirring member (feeding member) described above.
Since the stirring blade is flexible, it relatively easily creeps, and recycling thereof is difficult, whereas the stirring shaft can be reused. However, the conventional fastening of the stirring blade to the stirring shaft does not permit demounting of the stirring blade. If the stirring blade is damaged when it is assembled into the main assembly of the toner supply container, the whole stirring shaft is exchanged.
In the case of the heat crimping or ultrasonic crimping, there is a possibility that fuzz or other foreign matter is introduced, with the result that an additional step of cleaning is required. Furthermore, a particular device is required for fastening the stirring blade to the stirring shaft, and the assembling steps are complicated with the result of increase of manufacturing cost. When the toner supply container is collected back and is reused, the stirring shaft and the stirring blade are not separable from each other.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a developer stirring member and a recycling method for the stirring member wherein the manufacturing steps are simplified, and the manufacturing cost is reduced, and in addition, reuse of parts is accomplished.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.